Thursday, September 25, 2008

PDX Food Happenings: Quick Bites

One food happening and one new opening you need to know about* * * * * * * * *This Sunday, Sept. 28, at Castagna (1752 SE Hawthorne/ 503.231.7373) they are going to be having an incredible Greek feast with food by chef Elias Cairo and my pal and ever-entertaining Greek wine god Dino Ariston. Dino has made a couple of unforgettable appearances at VINO's Friday soirées, and he knows his stuff like nobody else. The menu looks pretty off the hook, too. Included will be:* Grilled sardines, octopus and prawns* Roasted mussels* Spit roasted Cattail Creek lamb * A plethora of side dishes including: * Skordalia and salt cod* Greek gigantes beans* Psefto Keftedes: assorted vegetable "meatballs"* Yemista: assorted stuffed vegetables* Epirote style pitaAll this incredible food and wine will set you back only $75 a person. An amazing deal, and if I hadn't planned on having people over to our house Sunday I would be there in a heartbeat!* * * * * * * * *Also just opened, TODAY, on the corner of SE 13th and Lexington and someone I'm very excited to have as a new neighbor is Blue Kangaroo Coffee Roasters. Owner Cindy Wallace and her partners, along with roasting savant Flo Posadas, have been roasting small batch coffee out of their home on Sauvie Island and selling it around town to a few select accounts. Now they've decided to take the plunge, and their new coffee shop (and soon-to-be micro roastery) on the corner looks like another great addition to our Sellwood 'hood. You'll find free Wi-Fi, newspapers on the tables, and homemade pastries (by Cindy's sister-in-law) to wash down with their drinks. I'm having a cup of their house coffee right now and it is excellent...very smooth, a dark roast with no bitterness. Stop by and check it out!